[imagesource: Moneyweb]

You might have done your own calculations at some point and figured that Woolies was probably the most expensive retailer in South Africa.

Their minimalistic packaging style and font choices certainly suggest as much.

Or you might have seen through the guise and realised that actually, more often than not, SPAR, Checkers, and Pick n Pay are pretty darn pricey.

When it comes to the bare basics and essentials, the data journalists at The Outlier compared the in-store prices of the same basket of goods across six major retailers.

That includes Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, SPAR, Woolworths, and most recently, Food Lover’s Market.

They’ve been comparing the prices from June 2022 until December 2022 and have found that indeed, Woolies is pretty fair.

The items that make up the grocery bag include:

• One 700-gram Albany Superior Sliced White Bread (or store brand)
• 2-litre store-brand sunflower oil
• 2,5kg IWISA maize meal
• 2,5kg Selati white sugar
• One store brand two-litre milk
• 2kg Tastic rice
• 2,5kg Snowflake cake flour
• One 175g Dettol Herbal Soap
• 9-pack of two-ply Baby Soft toilet paper (or store brand)

The data journalists try to stick to the products as consistently as possible every month so that the price comparison can reflect accurately.

For December 2022, it was found that Food Lover’s Market was the most affordable option, while Pick n Pay was the most expensive option at R417,21 for the bag of goods – R31,34 more expensive than the cheapest option.

The chart compares:

 

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The Outlier also has reports extending to June 2022, all consistently showing Woolies as the second cheapest retailer above Shoprite.

Way to go, Woolies.

[source:theoutlier]